Zack Snyder’s journey with the DCEU was marred by controversy and fraught with unmet expectations. From his polarized Man of Steel to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Zack Snyder’s Justice League, his superhero universe ambitions were never met with consistent critical or commercial success.
When Warner Bros. pivoted away from his vision, Netflix seemed to offer him a fresh canvas. He was given the opportunity to build multiple genre universes on his own terms. However, that promise appears to have crumbled. According to a recent Forbes report, Netflix has now canceled not just one but four of Snyder’s planned projects.
1. Army of the Dead Sequels
Zack Snyder returned to his horror roots with Army of the Dead, a zombie-heist mashup he directed for Netflix. The filmmaker’s earlier movie in the genre, Dawn of the Dead, introduced him to a wider audience. The Netflix film was supposed to be a spiritual successor to his 2004 movie.
Dave Bautista’s movie just did well enough in viewership, reportedly reaching 75 million households and 186.54 million watch hours in its first 28 days (via THR). A prequel movie, Army of Thieves, starring Matthias Schweighöfer, was released later that year.
It wasn’t supposed to end there. Snyder’s plans included a sequel, titled Planet of the Dead, as well as an animated prequel series, Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas. TheWrap reported in August 2024 that Netflix quietly shelved all of these projects in the zombie universe.
It was reported that the cancellation is tied in part to the disappointment surrounding the Rebel Moon saga. The financial risk of continuing the zombie universe was probably too high for the streamer, especially with Snyder continuously failing to deliver.
2. Rebel Moon Universe
Netflix entrusted Snyder with another universe-building movie, which was largely considered to be his unrealized Star Wars dream project. Netflix greenlit the sci-fi epic, Rebel Moon, which caused much excitement among Snyder’s fans. However, the movie, despite its multiple PG-13 cuts and R-rated director’s cuts, failed to impress the critics and audience.
Only two films made it out: Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire and Part Two: The Scargiver. Snyder had expressed grander ambitions, hinting at four to six entries in total. He shared with Radio Times:
I guess four makes sense. Four or six movies, depending… I guess it’s whether or not every time we make one of these movies we make two, that’s the question.
His co-writer, Kurt Johnstad, later revealed that they had “very detailed outlines” for films three through six (via I Minutemen). While Snyder’s fans remained committed, Rebel Moon underperformed in every way possible. The horrible PG-13 cuts to the incredibly long Snyder Cut version were all hard to sit through for fans.
Forbes reported that the movies did not crack Netflix’s Top 10 original movie list. According to the outlet’s latest report, the sci-fi universe is probably not moving forward besides the short comic runs, a VR game, and a small-scale Netflix Games title.
While Snyder has not publicly confirmed that every planned sequel is dead, insiders suggest that the franchise is no longer a priority at Netflix. The financial burden may have outweighed the benefits of continuing the franchise.
3. Twilight of the Gods
Snyder helmed an animated project for Netflix titled Twilight of the Gods, based on Norse mythology. With a 76% critics’ score and 75% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, the show appeared to have received some enthusiasm from fans. Snyder even directed the first and last episodes.
However, Netflix canceled this project, not even renewing it for a second season (via MovieWeb). It was a surprising move from the streamer, as it usually leaned into animation, and many of its animated series tend to enjoy multiple seasons. The move with Twilight of the Gods was rather telling, as it showed the platform’s lack of confidence in Snyder.
4. LAPD-Based Action Film
Zack Snyder’s grounded live-action thriller, a high-stakes LAPD unit drama, is not essentially cancelled. However, there has been some alleged trouble, according to word from World of Reel. Reports said that Snyder pitched the movie to Netflix film chief Dan Lin, who was intrigued by the story, but not the price tag.
Snyder allegedly wanted $100 million to make the movie. Lin pushed back, especially considering Snyder’s previous record on the Army of the Dead and Rebel Moon movies. It allegedly caused tension between Snyder and Lin. The most telling sign about this project’s fate was Snyder’s reported next movie.
According to the outlet, he was supposedly moving on to The Last Photograph, which will not be backed by Netflix. The new movie will star Stuart Martin and Fra Fee, who worked with him on Rebel Moon. It was also earlier reported that Snyder was working on a UFC-based film called Brawler.
Netflix Seems to Be Moving Away From Snyderverse
The failure of Rebel Moon seems to have done the deal for Netflix to move away from Snyder. The platform tried to appeal to the large following of the filmmaker; however, they quickly got tired of the ‘relentless social media frenzy’ surrounding him.
It is also possible that Netflix did not foresee the director’s grand ambitions when they allowed him the creative freedom. Critics argued that Snyder’s vision was too broad and that it was moving too fast, which was a recipe for disaster. Snyder and Netflix spread themselves too thin when it came to resources at hand.
On top of all these factors, Snyder’s movies didn’t come cheap. Netflix had to put in millions of dollars to maintain the director’s signature style of filmmaking. However, the movies weren’t generating enough traction or critical acclaim, making it difficult to justify their continued run.
What do you think of Zack Snyder and Netflix’s current relationship? Let us know in the comments below!
All of the movies mentioned are now available for streaming on Netflix.
